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Category: 83rd Legislature

A proposal to infuse the Hazlewood Act with cash to help universities fund tuition exemptions for veterans and their children passed the Texas Senate on Sunday night but has yet to get approval from the House. The Act, which exempts veterans from paying tuition and mandatory fees, has been in place for years, but in …

UPDATE: Ellis decided against filibustering, and the Senate approved HB500 with a 27-4 vote. ORIGINAL POST: The Texas House sent a $197 billion, two-year state budget to Gov. Rick Perry, defending it against some critics who called it too costly and others who said it shorts state needs. It is the centerpiece of a spending …

A bill that ensures food establishments cannot deny entrance to a service canine, including dogs assisting people with post-traumatic stress disorder, is en route to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk for a signature. On Sunday, both the Texas House and Senate adopted the conference committee report for House Bill 489, authored by Rep. José Menéndez, D-San …

UPDATE: The Texas House adopted the conference committee report for SB 1747 about 11 p.m. in a 133-10 vote. About an hour earlier, the measure was unanimously adopted by the Texas Senate. Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, said the bill now helps counties fund fixes to local roads both in the short term and long term. …

Both chambers have adopted final versions of a bill that would allow students with concealed handgun licenses to transport and store their pistols on campus in their vehicle’s trunk. The Senate approved the conference committee report of Senate Bill 1907 by a vote of 29-3, and the House 135-8. The bill, authored by Katy Republican Sen. …

UPDATE: Fowler stopped en route to Austin to make some phone calls, and was told by Sen. Tommy Williams’ office that a deal has been reached to give oil-impacted counties some funding. Up to half of the $450 million allocated in this year’s budget to TxDOT’s projects in oil-impacted counties will be available for use …

UPDATE: After a heated debate on the House floor, where Republicans and Democrats spoke against HB 508, the bill died. A procedural vote to take up the bill was defeated, 38-103. Clarification: The original post stated the bill would allow the pool of officials to carry pistols anywhere. A senate staff member familiar with …

Original story: In his first veto of the session, Gov. Rick Perry on Saturday officially scrubbed a controversial proposal aimed at shining a light on secret campaign spending. Senate Bill 346 by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, would have required nonprofits set up under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code to publicly disclose contributors who pony …

The task assigned to Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, sounds like a impossible riddle: How do you pay for badly needed up-keep and expansion of Texas highways without raising taxes and fees or imposing more tolls? Fairy dust? After studying the problem all session, Nichols has found a more pragmatic solution that may become a topic …

The Senate on Saturday approved changes made in a conference committee to a bill that reauthorizes until 2021 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice but did not order closures of two state facilities. Sen. John Whitmire’s Senate Bill 213 sets up a reentry task force that will “identify gaps in services for offenders following their …